“He won’t be living here but will come here on several occasions to work with our goaltenders,” Avalanche vice president Jean Martineau said of Thibault, who played 10 games for the Avs in the franchise’s first year in Denver.

The hiring ensures that each member of coach Joe Sacco’s staff will be former Avs players. Sylvain Lefebvre and Steve Konowalchuk are assistant coaches and Adam Deadmarsh is the video/development coach.

Thibault, selected 10th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1993 NHL draft, ended a 14-year career with the Buffalo Sabres in 2008. He also played for Chicago and Pittsburgh and was an NHL all-star in 2003.

“He’s had a long and pretty good career, and we feel he is going to be a good asset, a good complement, to the goaltenders,” Martineau said.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.